Overview

• Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill approved ACIP’s votes, making shared clinical decision-making the national guidance for COVID-19 shots and updating federal immunization schedules.
• People 6 months and older may still receive a COVID-19 vaccine after consulting a qualified provider, a step short of a prescription that could slow access even as Medicare, Medicaid and Vaccines for Children coverage continues.
• The CDC also endorsed giving measles, mumps and rubella with a separate varicella shot for young children, citing a slightly higher febrile seizure risk with the combined MMRV product before age 4, while keeping MMRV as an option for the second dose at 4–6 years.
• The policy lands alongside an FDA action that limited COVID-19 vaccine authorization to adults 65 and older and certain high‑risk younger people, creating a mismatch that clinicians and pharmacies must navigate.
• States and insurers are diverging on access and coverage, with jurisdictions such as California securing insurer payment under state recommendations and regional partners maintaining broader guidance, as major medical societies offer traditional, more expansive advice.